#episcopalschoolofdallas

[crossfit-odyssey]

When your middle school gym coach is now your daughters camp coach! How cool is that??? 😎#summercamp #waldemar #teacher #coach #nextgeneration #esd #episcopalschoolofdallas @esdalumni @episcopalschoolofdallas @camp_waldemar (at Hunt, Texas)

[dawnspiration-blog]

The Past, This Place

"I want to run through the halls of my high school I want to scream at the top of my lungs, I just found out there's no such thing as the real world. Just a lie you've got to rise above."🎼 That was the song playing in my head as I woke up this morning after roaming - and, yes, running through - the halls of my high school yesterday, where I was honored to speak to the juniors and seniors of my alma mater, Episcopal School of Dallas. I felt truly alive and present as I looked out into the audience and took in every single one of their young, eager, hungry, inspiring faces, remembering myself at that age, and all of the unsteady feelings that go along with it. At their age, I used to say to myself on challenging days, "Just get through this. One day, you're going to come back and share what you've learned." So, before I went in, I didn't prepare but rather I asked for guidance as to what to say and how to say it, and then I asked that I inspire, encourage, soothe, uplift or activate at least 6 students. After the hourlong interactive talk, I was approached onstage by 6 young girls with questions about everything ranging from where they should go to college to acting to beauty products to my time working with Barbra Streisand. Here's a little of what I shared yesterday. I only wish I could have learned it - and, really LISTENED to it - at their age. *Say yes to every opportunity - every job, every internship, every mentorship experience - until you are so busy that you have to say no. *I am a series of failures that led to success. Failure is just one step closer to success...because if you fail, it at least means you tried something. So, never be afraid to take risks. *Don't listen to anyone who says you need to focus on one thing. If your passions lie in different arenas, play in different arenas. You may end up playing them all, you may end up being a star in one field. But try, try them all. *Always be kind - you never know when someone will end up being a friend, a business associate, a love interest, an employer or a source of inspiration. And, besides, it just makes your soul a warmer, cozier place to live. Thank you @EpiscopalSchoolOfDallas for giving me a cozy, warm place to grow up where my spirit and creativity could always run free. 📷: Clarice McCoy — with Clarice McCoy at Episcopal School of Dallas.

[dawnspiration-blog]

Cheers to New Friends

Ya know when ya follow someone on Instagram, and you basically have a crush on them because you find them so crazily creative and talented?

🙌

But, you worry that when you meet 'em, they won't live up to the image in your head??

😳 Well, that's just what this guy here - belated birthday boy, fine art photographer and The New York Times Bestselling Author, Gray Malin- is to me.

🎂

Long before I k...new of Gray, I had heard about him.  A LOT.

From my friend, Tess Mullen

From my friend, Kate Swail

From my friend, Kelly Lee Kelly Golightly

From - ohhh - ALL my friends.

👯

And, a few teachers, too.

It probably stems from the fact that we both attended a small private school in Dallas -

Episcopal School of Dallas

- and, are now, ESD alumni /creative people living in LA.

Understand the gravity of this:

I mean this is a school where we had a mere 63 in my graduating class.

You knew EVERYONE.

EVERY ONE.

And - almost - all of their stories.

But, I didn't know Gray Malin- because we were...oh, 8 years apart.

I'll let you take the guess as to who's older.

🙈

So, when we finally met as celebrity tastemakers/ novice designers at the @christopherkennedyinc compound - Kelly Golightly's #VillaGolightly- during Modernism Week this year - I was just beside myself.

I'm happy to report that Gray was even more handsome, charming, personable and delightful than I had been told.

💗

To me, he chanelled both Cary Grant and Spencer Tracy, all in one.

And, ya gotta love a guy whose sole mission in life is to "make every day a getaway." I mean, our friendship started with popping bottles of @MoetUSA champagne in #TheMoetBubbleBath, and now I just wanna drink margaritas with him all the time.

Sometimes the reality surpasses even the dream.

So proud to call you a new friend, Gray.

Cheers to your birthday, cheers to new friends, and cheers to kids who grew up in Texas...and, then, promptly after graduation, headed out west to pursue some crazy dreams.

May we dream forever.

Now...when can we go get some margaritas at Mi Cocina- or, in LA - together?!

📷: @mollycophoto Molly Hauge

cc: Christopher Kennedy #TheChristopherKennedyCompound

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— with Gray Malin at The Christopher Kennedy Compound.